


The Other Facts of Life

by mogwai_do



Series: In Vino Veritas [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 22:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13797519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogwai_do/pseuds/mogwai_do
Summary: Moms are fine when it comes time for that birds and the bees talk, but who do you talk to when you need to know about the birds and the birds?





	The Other Facts of Life

"Colonel!"

Colonel Jack O'Neill stopped short at the door of his office and turned to face the SGC's diminutive CMO. "Doc?"

"Have you got anything planned for this evening?"

Jack blinked at the abrupt question, "No... Why?"

"Would it be alright if Cassandra came 'round?"

"Sure, what's up?" The teen came over on a fairly regular basis, but it was usually a more casual arrangement than this.

"Well, Cass is having a bit of a problem and I thought you might be able to help her out."

"Sure, what sort of problem?" The PA blared suddenly drowning out half the question as it called for a medical team in the Gate room.

Janet glanced up at the speaker, her expression a mixture of annoyance and relief. "I can't tell you that here, Sir - I have to go."

*****

Jack had just set his bowl on the tray and put the lid back on the pot when the doorbell rang. That it was Cassandra wasn't much of a surprise since he'd spoken to Janet earlier, but he was surprised by just how nervous Cassie looked. The teen was paler than usual; she obviously hadn't slept well lately judging from the shadows under her eyes and her fingers constantly toyed with the bracelet Daniel had given her for her last birthday.

Jack stepped aside with what he hoped was a reassuring smile and Cassie slipped into the kitchen with only a faint 'Hi Jack.' Jack frowned as he shut the door behind her, wondering what on earth was so wrong that it would shake the normally confident girl so badly.

Pretending not to notice her discomfort for the time being, Jack offered her some dinner. Cassandra took a small bowl of rice and chicken stew, but he guessed it was more for distraction than hunger. He steered them both into the sitting room and down onto the couch, hoping a little food and familiar surroundings would help put the girl more at ease. The TV went largely ignored as Jack ate and surreptitiously watched Cassandra play with her food.

After a few minutes' silence Jack tried to start a bit of conversation, hoping that he could get more of a clue as to what the problem was, but Cassie's answers were monosyllabic mostly so he let it drop. With a muted sigh Jack returned to his meal, hoping that all Cassie needed was time to sort her own head out before she spoke because he just wasn't that great at the whole 'talking' thing and if it needed that then he was going to have to call Daniel.

He left Cassie watching TV, though he was fairly certain she couldn't have told him what was on, while he dumped their dishes in the sink and started some coffee. He watched the coffee drip blankly for a long minute and then reached up and pulled down the mugs and a tin of expensive cookies Daniel had insisted he have so that Daniel and Sam could nibble when they were over. The things he did for his kids.

When Jack wandered back into the sitting room, Cassie turned to look at him and he sensed the change in the atmosphere. It looked like Cassie was about as ready as she was ever going to be. Jack offered her the coffee and cookies and she took them with a half-successful attempt at a smile. Jack returned it as he sat and watched as the teen disassembled her cookie, casting furtive glances in his direction.

"Did mom tell you?"

Jack was almost caught off guard at the sudden, low-voiced question. His first impulse was humour to try to lighten the mood and make her smile, but the idea halted half-formed. Cassandra was definitely worried about something and she deserved a serious response.

"No," he replied, "She just said you had a problem you needed some help with."

"It was mom's idea - she said I should talk to you." Cassandra's tone was half-reluctant, half-accusatory, as if she didn't want to take any blame for Jack's reaction.

Jack frowned a little at the uncharacteristic behaviour, like her moms, Cassie was up-front about most things. "Okay," he agreed, more confused than wary. He wasn't entirely sure what he had to offer except maybe a male perspective, but he was willing to help if he could.

The silence had stretched a little before Cassie evidently gathered enough courage to broach the actual subject.

"Do you remember Emily?"

Jack blinked, as a matter of fact he did remember Emily. She'd moved into Colorado Springs about six months after Cassie's arrival and the two girls had meshed as outsiders; they'd been close friends ever since. His last memory of the girl was from the last birthday BBQ for Cass; Emily was something of a goth now, but nice enough all the same. "Yeah?"

"She's been getting loads of hassle from the kids at school, calling her a dyke, stuff like that. Em says she doesn't care what they call her, but she shouldn't have to put up with that - it's not fair." Jack smiled inwardly, Cassie was becoming quite irate now, and even though Janet wasn't her biological mother, some traits and mannerisms were showing.

Jack shrugged, "No, it's not fair, but if it doesn't bother Emily then it shouldn't bother you." That didn't come out right and Jack struggled to find quite the right words for what he meant. "Sometimes any kind of reaction to bullies just makes them worse, Cass. It sounds to me like Emily already knows who her friends are. She knows you're a good friend and she's not worried that you'll suddenly abandon her just because of a bunch of stuff that's not true."

Cassandra blushed suddenly, but her eyes held more than just embarrassment. "It is true though, Jack, she told me last summer when we went to camp together."

Jack felt his stomach sink, his instinct for danger rarely failed him and it was hollering loud and clear right now that he was about to enter territory he normally tried to avoid. Oblivious, Cassandra continued to explain, an earnest belief on her face and in her voice that Jack would listen and understand and not judge.

"I was fine with it y'know, I mean she's still my best friend and everything, what difference does it make? Then, like, about two weeks ago, I... we were watching Buffy at her place and her mom was out and... Jack, she kissed me and... and I kissed her back and now I don't know what to do. Mom found out 'cause I was just so freaked and she was like okay with it, kind of, but she couldn't help. And I don't know what to do, I... I, I kind of want to, but... I'm scared Jack."

Involuntarily, Jack groaned and bowed forward, putting his head in his hands. His voice was muffled but clear enough, "I'm going to kill her - definitely - you don't mind do you?"

"I'm sorry," Cassandra's voice was no more than a breathless gasp. "I'm sorry, Jack, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I, I..."

Jack straightened quickly and reached for Cassie, pulling her into a hug, shushing and calming her until she could take in his words. "It's okay, Cass, it's okay. I'm not mad. It's not your fault."

Dark, almost tearful, eyes looked up at him pleadingly, wanting to believe. Jack sighed, "I meant your mom," he explained. "I know why she sent you now."

At Cassandra's look, he steeled himself for the explanation he'd hopefully never have to repeat. "Way, way, _way_ back when, your mom and I were at college together in Chicago. After school I'd spent a year travelling, so I was a late starter; your mom had had a lot of private schooling so she'd started a year ahead or we probably never would have met."

"We met at some Air Force social thing, since we were both sponsored; me because I couldn't afford it otherwise and your mom because her dad didn't approve of her career choice. Anyway, we hit it off straight away and became good friends. It was kind of useful actually since neither of us had a date at the time; we used each other for all the USAF functions we had to go to."

Cassie's eyes were wide, obviously a lot of this was news to her, thinking about it, Jack suspected it would be news to most people. "How come mom never said?"

Jack shrugged, "It's no big secret, at least not now. When the Stargate Project started up again, it was me and General Hammond who had to decide on our new CMO. I hadn't seen your mom in years at that point, but I did recognise her name when it came up. It could have been an issue then so I kept it quiet, especially when it turned out that she was the best qualified for the job. The SGC's position was kind of precarious then and we didn't want to risk accusations of bias. It's just never come up since."

Jack cast a quick glance at Cassie and was pleased to see her more relaxed as she listened to the story, such as it was. "Anyway, that's kind of by the by and politics is boring." He was rewarded with a more typical Cassie smile and grinned back, maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all.

"Your mom and I were... er..." Dammit, he so had not intended to blush when Cassie looked at him with suddenly wide eyes as she made the connection.

"You and mom... eww! That's just... _weird_."

Despite his embarrassment Jack couldn't help but laugh, pleased that Cassie was relaxed enough to listen, and it encouraged him to continue.

"Anyway, me and your mom had been friends for a while when we met Rick. He was on the hockey team, like me, and he shared some of your mom's physio classes, but he was nothing to do with the Air Force - mainly because Rick was gay. He didn't advertise it, but he didn't exactly hide it either. It wasn't a problem for him, in those days everyone at college was into all sorts of things so he could pass it off as experimentation and no-one would bat an eye. Of course the fact that he was 6'3" and built meant not too many people would start something with him anyway."

"So mom sent me to you 'cause she knew you had a gay friend?"

Jack winced, he could leave it at that, but he really didn't want to lie to Cassandra even by omission. "Not... exactly."

Cassandra looked at him curiously, sensing the real story in the offing. Jack took a deep breath. "We hung out together a lot, me, Rick and your mom. Went to parties, crashed in each others' rooms, invented new and interesting recipes from what we could afford on our allowances. Played drinking games - don't ever try to out-drink your mom by the way. One day we decided to play Spin The Bottle, just the three of us - we were pretty drunk already so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Law of probability meant that Rick spun me pretty quickly..."

Jack trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase it, or even if he should. He could still remember that night clearly despite all the alcohol he'd consumed at the time. After training himself for years not to look, not to notice, not to let anyone ever know because he wanted the Air Force so badly. One drunken kiss from his very male friend and he'd thrown all of that right out the window. He remembered the heat and the lingering bite of tequila in Rick's mouth; he remembered the thud as Janet had fallen off the bed, too drunk to maintain her balance in her shock. He remembered Rick's hands gripping a little too hard in his hunger as they made out on the floor of Janet's room, the game long forgotten. He remembered Janet's reverent exclamation as they finally came up for air and she found her voice again. The laughter as they had both grabbed Janet and tickled her mercilessly when she'd tried to run out the door to sell tickets to supplement her allowance.

Jack came back to himself with a start and snuck a glance at Cassie as she waited for his next words. He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably, easing the tension, as he found the words to make Cassie understand. "Rick and I were... together until Graduation. It was a friendly split; he wanted to travel and I'd signed on in the Air Force. With my postings and his wandering we lost touch pretty quickly, but there were no regrets." Jack snuck another glance at Cassie and wasn't sure whether to feel gratified or dismayed at the stunned expression on her face.

"You don't... look... gay."

Jack couldn't help the grin that formed when he saw Cassandra wince at her own inanity. "That's kind of the point, Cass, though technically I'm bisexual not gay. Stereotypes aside, I could get kicked out of the Air Force for it or sent to prison. No-one knows except Janet and now you."

"I won't tell anyone, Jack." Cassie promised immediately and fervently, hastening to reassure him.

"I know you won't, Cass," he smiled.

They continued to sit with the drone of the TV in the background until Jack switched it off, but the quiet was a lot easier than it had been earlier. He watched as Cassie leaned back on the couch and did likewise while she thought it through.

"What should I do then?"

Sprawled on the sofa, Jack considered the $64,000 question. He hated being asked to give this kind of advice, he'd messed up his own life enough, he didn't really want to mess up anyone else's. "That's up to you Cass. I decided it was something I could live with. I kept it quiet because I was in the Air Force and I wanted that more. After I met Sara it just wasn't an issue."

"But did you... um... Before, with Rick..."

"Ah." Crap, he was blushing again, but he could only be honest. Preferences were one thing, acting on them was something else entirely and that was what she needed to know. He'd told her the one, the other... No, he and Rick hadn't stuck with the holding hands and kissing version of 'together', not even on day one. "Yeah, I did, we did. There's nothing _wrong_ with it Cass, so what if it's not 'normal', how much of our lives is? If anyone gives you grief, tell them you're an alien and it's normal for you."

Cassie smiled broadly, but it faded quickly. "I guess. But what if people find out? Sam? Daniel and Teal'c?"

"Hey, don't sweat it, Cass. It'll be okay I promise. Teal'c's cool with loads of stuff, I mean he's managed to adapt to living here no problem. He can take anything you throw at him and you won't get anything more than an eyebrow twitch; he practically lives on Jerry Springer remember. You know Daniel would forgive anyone anything as long as they weren't a snake, and he's an anthropologist too. He's trained to look at stuff like this without batting an eye."

"But what about Sam? She got embarrassed watching _Buffy_."

Jack gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, "Embarrassed is a long way from upset, Cass. Sam's dad is a General, she's always lived on military bases and by strict rules and she's a scientist all the way. She's not used to thinking outside the box because she's always been defined by rules, military or mathematical, but she loves you dearly. Give her the chance and she'll prove it's more than enough to accept this."

"You sure?"

"Positive," he replied, putting all of his certainty into the word.

"I guess," Cass murmured as she snuggled just a little further into him. "I just... I want to work with you guys, with the SGC, when I finish school and college and stuff. And, well..."

"I get it. It's not a problem Cass, that's still quite a few years off yet, things might change between now and then and even if they don't... Technically you're an alien, they won't let you join the Air Force anyway, you'd have to be a civilian consultant like Daniel and Teal'c and then 'don't ask, don't tell' wouldn't apply to you."

"Really?"

"Really. Anyway, it's a long way off and you never know, you might find a nice guy for yourself, someone who's the 'right' gender, like I found Sara, and the whole thing becomes moot."

Silence descended again, but it was a contemplative silence and not uncomfortable. Cassandra shifted against Jack's shoulder, staring blindly at the blank TV screen. "Is it supposed to be this confusing, Jack?" Cassie's voice was so soft he almost didn't hear it.

Jack smiled and dropped a quick kiss into her hair. "I don't know about 'supposed to be' but yeah, I know what you mean."

Cassandra twisted to look up at him, "Do you?" She sounded more hopeful than questioning.

Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Yeah, I do," he replied softly.

Apparently satisfied, Cassandra settled back down. The easy silence continued for a few more minutes before she straightened and sat up, "I think... I think I need to think about it some more."

Jack nodded, advice only took you so far, the decision was always your own in the end. "Do you want a lift home?"

Cassandra nodded and grabbed her jacket while Jack fetched the keys to his truck. On the doorstep as he locked up behind them, Cassandra turned, "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"If I need to talk again - would that be alright?"

Jack pulled the key from the lock and turned with a smile, "Sure, any time, just, y'know, not in company." The grin she gave him as reward was worth all the embarrassment.

*****

It was late by the time they got to Janet's house, but despite the fact that Janet had the early shift tomorrow the kitchen light was still on. The back door opened as Jack pulled up to the curb and got out. Cassandra was already ahead of him, giving her mom a hug and then disappearing into the house. Janet waved Jack inside and he closed the door behind him with a smile, knowing he was letting himself in for a grilling.

"How'd it go, sweetie?"

Jack smiled as he entered the kitchen, detecting more than a hint of 'Doctor Frasier' in Janet's question.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at Jack, "Fine, mom."

Janet turned to Jack for help and Cassandra took the opportunity to escape. They listened to the rapid thunder of footsteps as Cassandra disappeared upstairs to her room without another word and shared a smile of parental understanding. "So..." Janet began, turning to Jack, "How'd it go?"

Jack shrugged, "Okay, I guess."

Janet frowned, not sure from his answer if the problem had actually been addressed at all. It had been hard enough to get Cass to talk to her and that was with evidence of something wrong. To get her to talk about it to someone else... "What did she say?"

Jack smiled, practically reading Janet's thoughts, "Oh, don't worry, she told me."

Janet scowled, "And?"

Jack's grin broadened, "Doctor-patient privilege, _Doc_."

"Hey," Janet objected, but Jack's grin just deepened.

"You *so* owe me for this Janet, you embarrassed the crap out of me." Jack didn't really need to elaborate further; they had both known he wouldn't be able to not help Cassandra. Janet's instincts had been spot on, it might have been a necessary evil but that didn't mean she was exempt from payback.

"You know," Janet began with an innocent smile and Jack cast her a suspicious glance. "Since you're so good at getting certain stubborn individuals to talk, not mentioning any names of course, like oh say _Daniel_. We could do with a few more... knowledgeable counsellors at the SGC. Someone who knows the sort of stuff that happens on the other side of the 'Gate... I'm sure the General would approve."

Jack growled, "I am _not_ playing counsellor, dammit!" Janet laughed outright, but even though she'd made a joke of it, there was an element of truth to it. For someone in the career he'd chosen, Jack was surprisingly empathic and he _did_ know all too well the shit that could happen in the sort of lives they led. Though she'd never tell him, she had in fact suggested a couple of SG team members talk to him rather than MacKenzie when they'd hit problems and been thanked later for the advice.

Jack's eyes narrowed and for a moment she almost thought he'd read her mind. His next words dispelled that fear, "You tell anyone about my 'sensitive' side," he almost spat the word. An evil gleam came into the dark eyes, "And I'll tell Cassie what her mom got for her 21st birthday."

"You wouldn't!" Janet gasped, going bright red with embarrassment at the reminder of something she'd probably never forget, but certainly hadn't thought of in a while. She scowled at the grinning loon in her kitchen, then managed a fairly credible nonchalance as she spoke again. "Well, if you're short of ideas for my next birthday..."

Jack laughed, his bluff called, then feeling mischievous he bent down and gave Janet a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing out the door with a wave.

Janet stood in her kitchen, momentarily stunned, old memories still bubbling under her skin. Then with a sigh and a rueful shake of the head she locked the door and turned out the light, bed beckoned and if she was lucky, some very sweet dreams.


End file.
